Three words …. Home-Made-Dumplings! Yes, this is a win for everyone. Shrimp and Pork Potstickers anyone?
I am absolutely in love with these little delicious bundles of joy. Delicious, crispy bites of incredibleness.
In Vancouver where I grew up, there is a huge number of Chinese people and with a huge number of Chinese people comes huge numbers of Chinese restaurants. I’m not talking about fast food Chinese either where the menu is just sweet and sour pork, spring rolls and fried rice. They are authentic, delicious and taste 100% like you are in China. Ok, technically speaking I have never been to China but it is a well known fact about the quality of Chinese food in Vancouver, actually the quality of the food in Vancouver in General
“Fusion is the operative word in restaurant-rich Vancouver, where Northwest meets Japanese meets Indian meets Chinese.” – National Geographic Traveler
“From grazing among food stalls in Granville Island’s Public Market to sampling dim sum in Chinatown, Vancouver is a foodie’s fantasyland.” – USA Today
“If I had a choice of where to eat Chinese food tonight, it would be Vancouver – best value and best chefs, rivalling the quality in Hong Kong.” – Martin Yan, San Francisco
“For serious China aficionados, it is possible to dine on first-rate dim sum in different eateries every day for a week, spend entire afternoons in Asian shopping malls or tea salons, and end the night at the movies or a karaoke bar, without hearing anything but Cantonese or Mandarin.” – Washington Post
Unfortunately, I no longer live there and am unable to go out and stuff myself with Dim sum anymore. But in 20 Days when I get back to Vancouver you can bet one of my first eating stops out will be China Town. My first ALWAYS is Nagano’s sushi to have the best sushi I have ever had. EVER!
I am a big advocate of eating more things at home and making it yourself. For the most part, I think things just taste better and they are almost always healthier. There is a reason why restaurant food tastes so damb good and it can be summed up in one word … Butter! Have you seen Top Chef before or basically any cooking show for that matter? there is always a theme which is
Fat = Flavour
And don’t get me wrong, its delicious but it needs to be had in moderation. I can only handle my steak being cooked in a pound of butter ever so often. But lets face it there is a reason why people love to have a bowl of french fries over a Kale Salad anyday. No ones talking to you … you know who you are!
Dim Sum though, that is a different story. First, if you want to make even three different type (Har Gow, Pork Bao, Shaomai) and make your own wrappers at the same time you are in for some work. Especially making it for a crowd. Lets face it, your not eating 3 or 4 dumplings when you chow down your eating at least 10 .. ish? They are small don’t judge. So if you are cooking for 4 people you are looking at making 40 dumplings … minimum. Double that if you have hungry men around. And not everyone has time for that. Its more one of those weekend project meals.
So, unless I am willing to stand there and make 40 individual dumplings (which on occasion happens) I do one of two things so you can enjoy homemade dim sum at home. And really, in my opinion they are not so much a substitute to going out to a real Dim Sum restaurant, but a substitute to buying store bought. Believe me, these taste so much better. And they are impressive too
- I make a ton and freeze them. You don’t need to defrost them before you cook them either. Bonus!
- Make it as part of a meal / appetizer
But don’t let me tell you how to make your dumplings you go ahead and make as many or as little as you want and whenever you want
***If you are not sure how to pleat dumplings please see the following youtube video at the bottom of this post
- [br][b]Makes 12 Dumplings[/b]
- 3 oz cooked prawns, peeled and deveined
- 3 oz ground pork
- 1 Med. Scallion, finely chopped
- 1 Garlic clove, grated
- 1 Tsp. Fresh Ginger, grated
- 1/2 Tbl. Fresh Cilantro, Chopped
- 1 Tbl. Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbl. Fish Sauce
- 1 Tsp. Sesame Oil
- 12 Wonton Wrappers
- [br][b]Makes 48 Dumplings[/b]
- 12 oz. Cooked Prawns, peeled and deveined
- 12 oz ground pork
- 4 Med. Scallion, finely chopped
- 4 Garlic clove, grated
- 4 Tsp. Fresh Ginger, grated
- 2 Tbl. Fresh Cilantro, Chopped
- 4 Tbl. Soy Sauce
- 4 Tbl. Fish Sauce
- 4 Tsp. Sesame Oil
- 48 Round Wonton Wrappers
- [br][b]Other:[/b]
- Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 Cup water
- Chinese Hot Mustard (Optional)
- Soy Dipping Sauce (Optional)
- To make the wonton filling, finely chop half of the prawns and coarsely chop the other half. Combine with remaining ingredients and set aside
- Take one wonton wrapper out of the package and cover the remaining with a damp towel to keep from drying out
- Add approximately one tablespoon of filling to the centre of the wonton wrapper. Wet your finger with water and moisten the edges. Form 5-10 small pleats along the edges (how many pleats depends on your dumpling folding skills.) Line onto a floured baking sheet and cover.
- Repeat with remaining wontons
- Once all the wontons are sealed and ready, heat a non stick skillet over medium high heat and add just enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom
- Once very hot, add the potstickers in batches if needed and cook until the bottom is lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes
- Once brown, add 1/3 – 1/2 a cup of water (depending on size of pan) and cover with a tightly fitted lid. Steam until cooked through. You want just enough water to cover the bottom so they steam, not so much that you are boiling them
- Remove from the heat and serve with Chinese hot mustard or a soy dipping sauce
- Enjoy!
I knew our year in Asia would pay off.
More Potstickers Please!